WATCH: Republican Congressman Explains Why He Supports Federal Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (VIDEO)
Representative Matt Gaetz spoke on the floor of congress to promote the ‘MORE Act’, a federal cannabis bill that decriminalizes marijuana use and research.
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Rep. Gaetz stated, “The MORE Act is flawed. It uses cannabis policy to do a great deal of social engineering, to create new taxes and new programs and redistribution of assets, but I am here as the only Republican co-sponsor of the MORE Act, and I’m voting for it because the federal government has lied to the people of this country about marijuana for a generation. We have seen a generation, particularly of Black and Brown youth, locked up for offenses that not, it should have not resulted in any incarceration whatsoever. I’m also deeply troubled that the current policy of the federal government, inhibits research into cannabis, research that could unlock cures and help people live better lives. My Republican colleagues today will make a number of arguments against this bill, but those arguments are overwhelmingly losing with the American people. In every state where cannabis reform was on the ballot in this country, it passed. It passed with overwhelming support. Matter of fact, the only thing that I know that’s more popular than getting out of the war on drugs is getting out of the War in Afghanistan.”
The ‘More Act’ has passed through the House and is expected to reach the Senate for a final vote.
Rep. Gaetz continued, “If we were measuring the success in the war on drugs, it would be hard to conclude anything other than the fact that drugs have won because the American people do not support the policies of incarceration, limited research, limited choice, and particularly constraining medical application. We are here in a time where many people in our country are suffering. They are in pain. And it is documented that cannabis that states with medical cannabis programs see a reduction in the prescribing of opioids and the number of opioid abuses and deaths. We’ve held hearings in the House Judiciary Committee where people in our government must confess that this is in fact true, that the more we give people access to medical cannabis programs, the more we see a blunting of this horrible scourge of opioid addiction and opioid abuse. We talk all the time on the right about the need to empower people and empower states. Right now, the federal policy on cannabis constrains our people. It limits our states. And I would only hope that in the 117th Congress after this bill invariably dies in the Senate, that we’ll actually come back and pass the STATES Act because the STATES Act acknowledges that we have screwed this up.”
However many Republicans did not support this Bill and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy slammed Democrats for prioritizing a marijuana bill instead of a COVID relief bill.
McCarthy stated, “With all the challenges America has right now, we think COVID relief should be on the floor, but instead the Democrats put cats and cannabis. This week they’re going to outlaw big tigers and then they’re going to legalize cannabis. They’re picking weed over the workers. They’re picking marijuana over helping the much-needed money we need to go forward, the small businesses that are closing. We look at what’s happening to Mac’s Public [Restaurant]. Maybe if they were named French Laundry, it would be OK. I don’t understand the double standards of what we see from these Democratic leaders.”
